Michael-john Milloy and his research team from the University of British Columbia carried out a survey of people wanting to quit crack. Those who used cannabis as an aid to this had an 89% higher success rate. This was not a terribly rigorous study, and the conclusion remains uncertain. But it is a real possibility. Cannabis contains a chemical called cannabidiol which has been shown in other studies to interfere with the reward pathways of the brain. Perhaps a cannabidiol pill could be made to aid in quitting the addiction?

Lance Kennedy wrote:Those who used cannabis as an aid to this had an 89% higher success rate.

...via the random inclusion of...

Lance Kennedy wrote:Cannabis contains a chemical called cannabidiol which has been shown in other studies to interfere with the reward pathways of the brain.

...to conclude...

Lance Kennedy wrote:Perhaps a cannabidiol pill could be made to aid in quitting the addiction?

The study you began with did not include a group that used only cannabidiol; the group used "cannabis," which may well have been the reason for the 89% success rate.

Since the group used the whole flower, the entourage effect must be considered. That would include not only the dozens of cannabinoids present, but also any of 200 possible terpenes. Limonene, for example, has been proven to be an anxiolytic, increasing both seratonin in the prefrontal cortex and dopamine in the hippocampus. Myrcene is a sedative and muscle relaxant. Caryophyllene is an anti-inflammatory analgesic.

Don't underestimate THC because of "reefer madness" propaganda. It's an analgesic, muscle relaxant, and antispasmodic. It's also a neuroprotective antioxidant and has twenty times the anti-inflammatory power of aspirin. When properly balanced by CBD, adverse effects like tachycardia, sedation, and anxiety are greatly reduced, if not eliminated. Even the psychoactive effects are mitigated. Cannabis is legal where I live, and one medication I use for chronic pain is a tincture comprised of a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD extracted into coconut oil. It produces no "high," because of the ratio, but it does relieve pain and relax muscles.

Lastly, why would you want to hand over to Big Pharma a medication that is already perfectly balanced in its natural state, or can be crossbred to serve any number of medicinal purposes? Cannabis crossbreeding is fairly state-of-the-art, currently. My dispensary offers a strain that is comprised of 12% CBD and only 6% THC, but also a strain that is 21% THC and only 2% CBD. They serve different purposes for different ailments. The invasive, overly controlling, overcharging services of Big Pharma are not required, thank you very much.

"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge."—Carl Sagan

"Every philosophy is tinged with the coloring of some secret imaginative background, which never emerges explicitly into its train of reasoning."—Alfred North Whitehead

"Knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world."—Louis Pasteur

I make no claims of personal expertise here. The reason I included cannabidiol in my post is because the article I read suggested it might have a role to play. The research done is way too early to draw any such conclusions, of course, and that might be quite wrong. But I did present it as a possibility, not a reality.

Most cocaine/crack users are binge users - they binge for a while, take it easy for a while, binge for a while . . . offer them free pot to stop the coke, most will - until they decide on another binge.

Any such study would need to be longitudinal to have any utility.

. . . with the satisfied air of a man who thinks he has an idea of his own because he has commented on the idea of another . . . - Alexandre Dumas 'The Count of Monte Cristo"

There is no statement so absurd that it has not been uttered by some philosopher. - Cicero